In November 2019, Marygrove Conservancy partnered with Barton Malow to deliver a comprehensive renovation of the 53-acre P-20 campus in Detroit. The initiative included the construction and renovation of five campus buildings—the Liberal Arts Building, Early Childhood Education Center, Immaculata Building, Florent Gillet Building, and Madame Cadillac Building—and was delivered through a construction management approach. The project supports grades pre-K through 12 and serves the Detroit Public School Community District’s School at Marygrove. By end of 2024, all major renovations were complete, positioning the campus to serve 18,000+ neighboring residents.
Throughout the project, the community was engaged through community events, neighborhood canvassing, and more to ensure the project would serve the community’s needs and achieve the conservancy’s vision.
Early Childhood Education Center
The AIA 2023 Architecture award-winning Early Childhood Education Center is a one-story, 28,000-SF childcare center that features 12 spacious classrooms, observation rooms, a library, and a health therapy room. Operated by Starfish Family Services, the center has been serving infants, toddlers, and preschoolers with national exemplary program standards in early childhood education since its grand opening in September 2021.
Immaculata Building
After sitting vacant for more than a decade, the project scope for the Immaculata project required a complete renovation of the three-story, 64,000-SF building with improvements including new HVAC, plumbing, lighting, power systems, installation of a single-car elevator, new finishes, exterior storm and sewer utilities, and landscaping. All of this was done while also completing the historical preservation of the building, which is now home to the Detroit Public School Community District’s (DPSCD)The School at Marygrove, a Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math (STEAM) elementary school.
Liberal Arts Building
The historic, 200,000-SF Liberal Arts Building is the central building on campus, which currently serves grades 9 through 12 and is also part of DPSCD’s The School at Margrove. At full capacity, the Liberal Arts Building will serve grades 6-12. Major work done by Barton Malow includes bringing the near-century-old building up to code and modernizing the MEP system along with adding modern finishes like new carpet, the addition of auxiliary spaces such as a cafeteria, gym and locker rooms, music rooms, resource centers, and maker spaces, as well as providing additional security measures.
Florent Gillet Building
The Florent Gillet building was originally constructed in 1958 and has recently undergone a significant renovation to modernize its facilities. This three-story, 42,500-square-foot building now features updated dorm rooms, new rooftop air handling units, a fire protection system, and in-room fan coil units. The renovation, completed at the end of 2024, ensures that the building meets contemporary standards for comfort and safety. The Florent Gillet building will now serve as a residence for students from the University of Michigan School of Education.
Madame Cadillac Building
The Madame Cadillac building, encompassing 140,000 square feet, went through a comprehensive renovation aimed at modernizing its spaces. The project included the installation of new air handling units, fire alarm and suppression systems, and updated electrical systems. The Madame Cadillac building now provides state-of-the-art facilities for students from the University of Michigan and the Center for Black Entrepreneurship and serves as the college portion of the P20 Program.
A P-20 campus is an educational campus serving students from pre-K through grade 12 (with programs that extend into student’s 20s). The Marygrove P-20 Campus consolidates multiple grade levels on one 53-acre campus in Detroit, allowing the School at Marygrove to serve pre-K through 12th grade students through a coordinated, comprehensive educational experience. The campus serves residents across the Detroit Public School Community District.
Barton Malow delivered the Marygrove P-20 Campus renovation using construction management services. This approach allowed Barton Malow to manage multiple buildings and phases across the 53-acre campus while coordinating with the Marygrove Conservancy, design partners, and the school district to ensure continuity of educational operations and community engagement throughout the project.
The Marygrove P-20 Campus renovation began in November 2019. The Early Childhood Education Center grand opened in September 2021. Major renovation work across five campus buildings was substantially completed by end of 2024, with the final phase (Madame Cadillac Building) finished in 2025. The project represents a multi-year, phased approach to campus modernization.
Barton Malow completed construction and comprehensive renovation on five campus buildings: the Early Childhood Education Center (28,000 SF, new construction), the Liberal Arts Building (200,000 SF, historic renovation with MEP modernization and auxiliary spaces), the Immaculata Building (64,000-SF historic preservation and systems renovation), the Florent Gillet Building (42,500-SF renovation), and the Madame Cadillac Building (140,000-SF comprehensive renovation). Work included new HVAC, plumbing, electrical, fire suppression systems, modern finishes, and educational facilities like STEAM classrooms, cafeterias, gymnasiums, music rooms, and maker spaces.
Community engagement was central to the Marygrove project from the start. Throughout construction, Barton Malow and the Marygrove Conservancy conducted community events, neighborhood canvassing, and ongoing outreach to ensure the project served the community’s needs and achieved the conservancy’s vision. This collaborative approach meant the campus renovation directly reflected input from the 18,000+ neighboring residents it serves.
